Bombay
Bombay (officially: Mumbai, Marathi : मुंबई / Mumbai; IPA : mumbəi) is the largest city in India and the state capital of Maharashtra . The city had according to the census in 2001 11.914.398 people. 1 An unofficial estimate from 2008 shows 13.7 million people. 2 Contents * 1 Name * 2 History ** 2.1 Communal and terrorist violence * 3 Administrative divisions * 4 Geography * 5 Transport * 6 Town Twinning * 7 Born * 8 External links Name The Greek cartographer Ptolemy mentioned in the second century BC. the city as Heptanesia which Ancient Greek for "a group of seven islands." The Portuguese called it Bom Bahia ',' Buon Bahia "or" Bambain ", Portuguese for 'good bay'. In 1538 they called also called the Boa-Vida, "the island of the good life. Later, when the British gained control of India was the name anglicized to Bombay though Marathi- and Gujarati-speakers knew the city like Mumbai. In 1996 the name was officially changed to Mumbai, 3 in accordance with the desire to rename Indian cities to the original Indian names. In the state of Maharashtra was the Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena to power and who claimed that Bombay is nothing more than a corruption of the original Mumbai. A frequently heard argument against this is that the city was founded by the British and the Portuguese, and that they therefore have the naming rights. Despite the name change Bombay remains a name used in the English vernacular. The media seem in recent years increasingly to opt for Mumbai although theLanguage Union gives advice to use in Bombay Dutch texts. 4 History Using objects near Kandivali in northern Bombay are found can be seen that the islands since the Stone Age have been inhabited. Human settlement has been documented since 250 BC. , when it was known to the Greeks as Heptanesia. In the third century BC. The islands were part of the Maurya Empire , ruled by the Buddhistemperor Ashoka . During the first few centuries the power of Bombay was disputed between the Indo-Scythian Western satraps and the Satavahana's . The Hindu -heersers of Silhara dynasty ruled the island until 1343 , when Gujarat they annexation. The caves of Elephanta and the temple complex Walkeshwar , one of the oldest structures of the archipelago, date from this period. In 1543 received the Portuguese islands in exchange for an alliance of Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and in 1661 they were by Catherine of Braganza as dowry toCharles II of England data. The islands were then in 1668 the British East India Company leased for ten pounds a year. The company found the deep natural harbor on the eastern side of the islands well suited for their first port on the Indian subcontinent . The population grew rapidly from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675 and in 1687the British East India Company moved its headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city will eventually become the capital of the presidency Mumbai (Bombay Presidency). From 1817 the town was redeveloped and expanded. Using large-scale civil works was of the islands of the archipelago one large island ( Salsette ) made. This project, which was known as the Hornby Vellard was in 1845 finished and resulted in an increased area of 438 km². In 1853 India's first passenger train from Bombay drove toThane . During the American Civil War (1861-1865) the city became the main cotton market in the world what a strong growth of the economy led and gave the city a higher regard. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 Bombay became one of the largest seaports along the Arabian Sea. In the thirty years that followed, the city grew into a major urban center out, stimulated by improving the infrastructure and the emergence of many of the city's institutions. The population of the city grew to a million in 1906 , making it currently the second largest city was in India after Calcutta . Bombay was also a major stronghold for the Indian independence movement, with theQuit India Movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 as the main event. After India's independence in 1947 it became the state capital Mumbai (Bombay State). In 1950 the town acquired its present city limits, an urban expansion to the north.After 1955 when the state of Bombay was divided along ethno-linguistic lines in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, there was a call to make an autonomous city-state of the city. A citizens' committee, composed of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for an autonomous status for Bombay. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement have, however, was strongly opposed and demanded that Bombay became the capital of the new state of Maharashtra. Following demonstrations in which 105 people from police brutality were killed, was formed on 1 May 1960 Maharashtra, whose capital is Bombay. After this Bombay became the largest city and financial capital of India. Also, it got a leading role as a technology center and it became the center of the Indian entertainment industry (see Bollywood ). In the nineties, the number of inhabitants well above ten million displaced and the booming construction industry toward the mainland, mainly Navi Mumbai , the largest planned city in the world. Communal and terrorist violence In the sixties and seventies, Bombay was hit several times by communal violence , which includes supporters of the Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena were involved. On May 17 1984 , riots broke out between Muslims and Hindus, more than two hundred cost lives. Between December 1992 and January 1993 the city was the scene of major riots and other violence between Muslims and Hindus, followed by a series of 13 coordinated bombings on 13 March. All in all it took to some thirteen hundred lives. It is believed generally that the bombings were the work of the mafia organization D-Company , consisting mainly of Muslims. For the bombings were arrested more than a hundred people and condemned, but the suspected mastermind behind the attacks, Dawood Ibrahim is still a fugitive. On 11 July 2006 the city was hit by a series of explosions during the busy evening rush hour. It is at least 200 deaths and more than 714 wounded. Seven bombs exploded in quick succession in crowded commuter trains. On November 26, 2008 attacks were again place in the city, including shootings, attacks on hotels and hostage-taking. Administrative divisions The municipality is governed by the Bombay Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai ( Marathi : बृहन्मुंबई महानगर पालिका, English : Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation''or ''BMC). The mayor since March 10th 2007 Dr. Subha Raul . The municipality Bombay is at the state level split over two districts; * City Bombay (Mumbai City), the city of Mumbai with an area of 69 square kilometers and 3,326,837 inhabitants (2001 5 ) * Suburban Bombay (Mumbai Suburban), the suburbs and some suburbs of Bombay with an area of 534 square kilometers and 8,587,561 inhabitants (2001 5 ) The district center is located in Bandra . The urban agglomeration of Bombay is also spread across the districts of Thane and Raigad . In addition, the commune for administrative purposes divided into six zones, each subdivided into three to five wards. Geography The city is located on the island Salsette , situated on the Arabian Sea . Along with the suburban Bombay is one of the world's largest urban agglomerations. According to the census in 2001, the metropolitan area had 16,368,084 inhabitants. 1 According to an unofficial estimate on January 1, 2009, the agglomeration meanwhile 22.3 million people. 6 The largest suburbs are, from largest to smallest, Thane , Kalyan-Dombivli , Navi Mumbai (New Bombay), Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar . The city also has a harbor which is of great importance for the country. About half of India's passenger traffic is about water, as well as a significant part of the total cargo traffic, going through the port of Bombay . Bombay is the cultural and commercial heart of India. It houses a lot of major financial institutions and many Indian companies have their headquarters. Because of the higher standard of living are attracted immigrants from all over India, the city therefore is a melting pot of different Indian cultures. Except for the industry Bombay is also known for his films. People from around the world come here to act and work in Bollywood . One of the most striking buildings in the city is the Gateway of India, built to commemorate the visit of King George V in 1911 . The last British troops left India in 1948 through this port. The city has many slums . 43 percent of the population lives in slums and other informal settlements. The best known is Dharavi , with about 1 million inhabitants, one of the largest slums in Asia. Transport Most residents of Bombay to make their commute using the public transport . This is due to the lack of parking, congestion and, especially in the monsoon season , generally poor state of repair of the roads. The city is the headquarters of two zones of the Indian Railways ; the Central Railway (CR) with headquarters the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered near Churchgate . The backbone of transportation in Mumbai is the Mumbai Suburban Railway . It consists of three separated from each other networks, all of which are roughly three, in north-south direction along the length of the city. The Western Railway runs through the western part of the urban area and the Central Railway serves the central and northeastern part of Bombay. Both lines are also in the surrounding commuter towns and both have a length of about 125 km. The Harbour Line is part of the Central Railway and runs to the southeast of the city, along the harbor and divides towards Andheri (at the airport) to the northwest and Panvel via Navi Mumbai , in the east. The construction of themetro of Mumbai was launched in June 2006 7 and is scheduled to become operational in 2011, the first line. 8 Public bus transportation is provided by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), an independent unit within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay) (BMC), and provide virtually all parts of the urban area and around Bombay. Buses are used for short to medium distances and trains for longer distances. BEST buses consist of ordinary buses and double-deckers . The taxis , which carry up to four people, driving almost the entire urban area. Automated rickshaws , which only operate outside the center, are the most common means of transport on demand. This three-wheeled vehicles can carry up to three people. The airport of Mumbai called Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport), and is the busiest airport in India. The Andheri terminal handles the international flights and the Santa Cruz terminal handles flights within India. The airport is located in the northwest of the city, surrounded by buildings. The port of Bombay is considered one of the best natural harbors in the world and serves alongside a significant portion of the Indian goods, fifty percent of the Indian maritime passenger transport. Bombay is also an important base for the Indian Navy. Ferries from Ferry Wharf provide cheap access to nearby islands and beaches. City links * Honolulu (United States) * Los Angeles (USA) * St. Petersburg (Russia) * Yokohama (Japan) * Amsterdam (Netherlands) Born * Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), British writer and poet * Joseph Cordeiro (1918-1994), Archbishop of Karachi ( Pakistan ) and Cardinal * Simon Ignatius Pimenta (1920-2013), archbishop of Bombay, and Cardinal * Bhupen Khakhar (1936-2003), artist in contemporary art * Ismail Merchant (1936-2005), Indian-British film producer * Zubin Mehta (1936), conductor * Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991), politician * Salman Rushdie (1947), writer * Anish Kapoor (1954), British sculptor * Shishir Kurup (1961), actor, film director and screenwriter * Fareed Zakaria (1964), Indian-American journalist and writer * John Abraham (1972), actor and model * Eboo Patel (1975), Indian American interfaith activist * Anice Das (1985), Dutch long track speed skater External links * (S) Official website of the city * (S) Mumbai Events Category:Bombay Category:Capital of an Indian state